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'Fox Lotto' time in central west

ELEANOR HALL: They call it "Fox Lotto". In the Central West of New South Wales, authorities are again preparing to award hundreds of dollars for the collection of fox tails in an effort to control the introduced species.

Rural reporter Sally Bryant asked the senior ranger with the Central West Livestock Health and Pest Authority, Lisa Thomas, whether the scheme has been successful and popular with the locals.

LISA THOMAS: Fox lotto is a bit of fun for our local community. We try and involve landholders as well as the general community and it's to create awareness about the concerns that we have with the fox population and how that impacts on our wildlife and agricultural production as well.

It started as a bit of fun back through the drought years and now it's turned into a very hot topic in the Dubbo area and everyone gets in on it. It's a great bit of fun.

SALLY BRYANT: So what do you do? How do you run fox lotto?

LISA THOMAS: Well, a fox tail will give you an entry into a draw for cash money which is being sponsored by a local bank. We're very fortunate this year to have the support of that bank and we're offering cash money up front. First prize $600 for bringing in a fox tail and that's every week.

If you bring in a fox tail or purchase bait for fox baiting, that provides an entry for you into fox lotto.

SALLY BRYANT: How big a problem have we got with foxes in this Central West region at the moment?

LISA THOMAS: Foxes have a very big impact in the agricultural area, particularly with land predation. We know that foxes in our rural area are probably about three to four per square kilometre and when you think of how much they actually have to eat to survive, there's a lot of competition out there particularly with something as vulnerable as lambs but also our wildlife as well so they're being impacted, ground dwelling birds, native lizards, frogs all those sorts of things are very heavily predated on.

SALLY BRYANT: The other thing is too that they get a bit cheeky don't they? You were telling me a story earlier...

LISA THOMAS: Yes, we just yesterday had a story of a fellow who came into our office to, I don't know, pay a bill or something and one of our customer service officers were talking to him about fox lotto and he told a story of he's got a little dog at his home and he's got a dog door on the house and he has found a fox in his house and he knows this fox regularly comes in and out of the dog door at the back of his house.

SALLY BRYANT: So fox lotto time in the Central West, how long is it going to run for?

LISA THOMAS: Fox lotto is here for the whole month of March. We're thrilled about it and people get really excited about it. It's a lot of fun. We have so many funny stories coming out of you know, what people have done to get a fox tail.

A local lady in Wellington, she found a fox one day and had nothing to cut the tail off so she threw the whole dead fox in the boot of the car and brought it in and she still couldn't find anything to chop the tail off and she presented me, at home, with this dead fox.